City Homeless Shelter Only 61% Full | Huntington Beach News

The only homeless shelter in Huntington Beach, run by Mercy House, has been losing residents to the streets. Current and prior shelter inhabitants share their thoughts on why they think this is happening.
Edit 2/20/2022
Larry Hanes states that individuals coming back from trips outside the shelter get their temperature checked.
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[@8196jlb]

Thanks for looking into this.

[@HB33TV]

No Problem

[@barbaraboethling596]

Thanks for your reporting.

[@HB33TV]

Anytime

[@antipattern0]

Used to help at homeless shelter...the homeless want to be free, they have other issues that need to be addressed.

[@christophergilbert2306]

“Free”??? They don’t want to abide by rules!!! Mainly “No Alcohol, and NO Drugs”!!!!

[@Joe-pc1ju]

get rid of it

[@KaiserHII]

Move it out to Hesperia

[@rockinmama007]

Interview next the Blue van -Be well. They seem to be helping. Curious exactly what they do. They are face to face with these homeless, asking questions.

[@HB33TV]

That is an excellent idea.

[@rigrentals5297]

😮‍💨😴😖🤯😱😢😭 i feel so stupid thinking it was a grow tent or somthing. its not even on GoogleMaps🙈🙉🙊...WTF!?!?! Love from Main and Gothard !

[@petefarmer3514]

Excellent reporting...thank you.

[@HB33TV]

Thank you

[@rockinmama007]

Difference between navigation center and homeless shelter is they don't necessarily sleep there. The group aids them into housing. Problem is most we still see like the streets.

[@jdamlinrules5126]

Its not that they like the streets. Its the freedom they are not willing to hand over their freedom to people that really don't care about them. And that's what happens. Why would anybody give up their freedom

[@ceciliaramirez6712]

I was at Mercy house in Anaheim called bridges I was homeless and you had to be referred there by mental health so everyone one has mental health problems and even before covid I was on lock down in less you had a dr appointment or had to go to social services and it was horrible

[@Majicalcreatures]

Thank you for this investigative report 👍🏆

[@HB33TV]

Thank you! We have more coming!

[@BR-cr6mf]

Homelessness is another money grab

[@jdamlinrules5126]

Fully. The city council do it for profit . if it was about helping people it would not have taken so many years to complete. It was all about the kick backs the city council could get from contractors and such.

[@dooshmasta]

Wait that’s a homeless shelter?

[@HB33TV]

Totally

[@lesliearana7862]

Bru… this interview is bs… this shelter has been good to people. There is people in there that care and delicate their lives working non stop to provide help. Don’t make this place look bad .

[@HB33TV]

We would love to show that but they won’t let us in.

[@jdamlinrules5126]

Bullshit. They do help a very very small percent of intakes. The rest go to jail or back to the streets because they aren't willing to take orders or give up personal control / freedom. Maybe there are people that want to help but those don't control policy's so they hands are tied and do little actually good. Your ignorant or the B.S. here.

[@whatwouldyoudowith3723]

While your living at the shelter in costa mesa and anahiem all you have to be is be in by curfew and submit to searches of proptery if and only if there is suspicion of drug use but when this homeless shelter was put in huntington beach the only way the city would allow it to be built is if there was these draconian control measures in place to track every move these home people want to make and that is why no one want to go to the huntington beach homeless shelter... loook the very fact you cant go in there and interview some of the homeless people that live there is because they would tell you these people are hostile and they are completely violating there constitutional right there

[@juanitaaguilar6023]

GREAT REPORTING ON THE FACTS THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH !!

[@HB33TV]

You’re welcome!

[@user-qg5xp5ch1p]

The place is a sham, Jr jail.. can't leave unless you have a car or Dr appointment

[@whatwouldyoudowith3723]

Your not allowed to leave this shelter unless you say where when how long and why your leaving... and for the most part you must leave and return in a vehical to satisfy some of the citys requirments regarding foot traffic

[@brucemoose926]

Please go interview the Orange County Rescue Mission. Are they doing any better?

[@srussick]

I thought once that shelter was built the police could enforce no sleeping on the street!! I guess that was a bunch of bull!! Great reporting see you soon on a major channel!!

[@HB33TV]

Thank you!

[@jdamlinrules5126]

Yes a federal court judge had an injunction basically tie their hands when it comes to citing and arresting people for camping until the city got its own homeless shelter. But it's not even a homeless shelter

[@whatwouldyoudowith3723]

Actually none of what he is saying is ttrue

[@whatwouldyoudowith3723]

More must be done to be sure these peoples constitutional rights are being upheld!!!

[@skipbanwell4614]

I knew someone who worked for mercy house for several years. And Larry is a CREEPY scammer who really doesnt care about anything but the money he can get out of it.

[@dooshmasta]

Woah. I used to donate to that organization.

[@jdamlinrules5126]

I 100% agree with that!

[@whatwouldyoudowith3723]

Its draconian and barbaric

[@jdamlinrules5126]

When this place first opened I was homeless in HB. The HBPD homeless task force was super aggressive about going to the shelter. 2 of the 3 officers made threats because I said no to going there. They said that now the shelter is open their hands are free to site homeless people for illegal camping. And it didn't matter that you were not camping. If you didn't g you were going to be arrested and sited for camping. The shelter is a trap for those with any issues of addiction. As we all know most homeless are addicted to something. The end result was going to jail. Incarceration not rehabilitation. That's fucked up!! But the police and city do it on purpose. They don't care. They want the streets cleared of all homeless and they DO NOT HAVE THE HOMELESS POPULATIONS BEST INTEREST AT HEART! NOT ONE BIT! ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS GETTING RID OF THE HOMELESS. ITS TRUE That YOU ARE TRAPPED IN THERE. THEY DON'T WANT YOU ON THE STREETS. THEY WILL MANIPULATE, THREATEN,LIE,TRICK YOU INTO GOING. THEN FIND ANY REASON TO ARREST YOU.! And blaming the county for the rules is bullshit. Most likely the city meeting with the county and told them that they want all homeless people off the streets period. What ever it takes to keep them off the streets. I'm not transient any longer. But I was in a few different city's and I will tell you the homeless people $90℅ were the biggest slobs making huge messes everywhere they went. They don't give a fuckcabout anything except getting high. I kept to myself for the 6 months on the streets while I got my personal matters taken care of to fix my situation. So I don't blame the citizens for complaining about the homeless there. They were the worst I have seen anywhere. Much worse! That shelter is a fucking joke. Its an incarnation filter that helps a very small percentage of people that go there. That's a fact!!!

[@HB33TV]

Please, let us interview you. Send us contact info to [e-mail]

[@donstarr7261]

How is it now

[@greedygringoprospecting6941]

get the shelter people to file a law suite. and they get $$$$ and free burritos